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The debut of an AI-generated \u201cactress\u201d named Tilly Norwood drew sharp condemnation on Tuesday from the SAG-AFTRA actors union, which warned against replacing human performers with \u201csynthetics.\u201d Producers touted interest from studio executives after unveiling Norwood at a Zurich film industry conference.<\/p>\n
The recent debut of an AI-generated “actress” dubbed Tilly Norwood, and its producer’s boasts of interest from studio executives, sparked a backlash on Tuesday from the SAG-AFTRA actors union, condemning the replacement of human performers with “synthetics.”<\/p>\n
The Hollywood<\/a> buzz around Tilly Norwood, introduced on Saturday at a film industry conference in Zurich, and the union’s scathing reaction to it reflected the dread many in the creative community feel about the intersection of artificial intelligence <\/a>and show business.<\/p>\n The official Tilly Norwood launch consisted of a 20-second appearance of the photo-real character – a twenty-something fictional ing\u00e9nue bearing no particular resemblance to any real celebrity – in a brief video parody about making an AI-generated television<\/a> show.<\/p>\n Dutch actor-producer Eline Van der Velden, whose London-based AI production studio Particle 6 created Tilly Norwood, said during her presentation at the Zurich Summit the project was starting to turn heads.<\/p>\n After months of facing boardroom skepticism, talent agents were starting to tell her: “‘We need to do something with you guys,'” Hollywood trade paper Variety quoted Van der Velden as saying. She said an announcement of a first-of-its-kind talent agency deal was a few months away, Variety reported.<\/p>\n Read more<\/span>French films tackle AI, nuclear science and the ‘it’ couple of 1960s cinema<\/a><\/p>\n Concerns about Hollywood actors and writers being exploited, and even supplanted, by AI-generated scripts and performers was a major issue SAG-AFTRA’s most recent round of contract talks with studios and streaming services.<\/p>\n Computer-generated imagery is nothing new to the film<\/a> and television industry, and AI-enhanced software has more recently emerged in various effects such as “de-aging” technology allowing actors to portray younger versions of themselves.<\/p>\n The ability to convincingly replicate a feature-length human film performance with AI stand-ins is still seen as far off.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the prospect of talent agents suddenly showing interest in AI-created figures stirred a swift denunciation from SAG-AFTRA, representing 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists, stunt performers and other talent.<\/p>\n “Creativity is, and should remain, human-centered,” the union said in a statement. “The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”<\/p>\n The parody video, which first appeared in July, actually comprises 16 AI-generated characters in all. But Tilly Norwood – a winsome figure with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, a British accent and her own social media<\/a> profile – was the star.<\/p>\n A separate Facebook post attributed to the character exclaims: “I may be AI generated, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now. I am so excited for what’s coming next!” SAG-AFTRA officials were not amused.<\/p>\n “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor,” the union said in its statement. “It’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers – without permission or compensation.”<\/p>\n‘VERY REAL EMOTIONS’<\/h2>\n